21 January 2021 — The Defender
By Mercola
In an “inauguration” of its own while Joe Biden was being sworn into office, the World Health Organization (WHO) initiated new rules regarding the PCR assays used for testing for COVID-19.
21 January 2021 — The Dossier
Wall Street, Washington, D.C., and Silicon Valley are swimming in cash and prosperity. 2020 could not have gone better for the country’s elites. The vast majority of Americans, on the other hand, have been forced into financial, physical, and emotional ruin. 2020 served as the year that government dictates — purposed with fighting a disease with a 99.8% recovery rate — manifested unprecedented wealth inequality, and created health issues far more dangerous than COVID-19. The unintended consequences of “fighting a virus” with the power of government are now on display for the world to see.
21 January 2021 — Interpress News Service
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Jan 7 2021 (IPS) – The currently available Covid-19 vaccines have been authorized for ‘emergency use ‘in Europe and North America. This is due to an apparent spike in Covid-19 flu cases in the northern hemisphere as winter advances. Highly advertised vaccines are being produced and rolled out at ‘warped speed’ by powerful pharmaceutical and bio-technology companies headquartered in Euro-America although their efficacy including how long their immunity lasts is not clear.
21 January 2021 — The Electronic Intifada
Every act of censorship inadvertently achieves its opposite by drawing attention to its subject.
Last week, an Israeli court ordered the 2002 film Jenin, Jenin to be banned in Israel and all copies of it confiscated.
The film – which was directed by Mohammed Bakri, a Palestinian citizen of Israel – has been the subject of censorship attempts since its release around 18 years ago.
21 January 2021 — Tricontinental
Diego Rivera (Mexico), The Uprising, 1931.
Dear friends,
Greetings from the desk of the Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research.
On 26 January, India’s Republic Day, thousands of farmers and agricultural workers will drive their tractors and walk into the heart of the capital, New Delhi, to bring their fight to the doors of the government. For two months, these farmers and agricultural workers have been part of a nation-wide revolt against a government policy that seeks to deliver all the gains of their labour to the large corporate houses, whose profits have ballooned during this pandemic. Despite the cold weather and the pandemic, the farmers and agricultural workers have created a socialistic culture in their encampments with community kitchens and laundries, distribution points providing free essentials, recreational activities and places for discussion. They are quite clear that they want three laws repealed and are demanding their right to a greater share of their harvest be established.
20 January 2021 — FAIR
CNN (11/30/20) examined “China’s mishandling of the early stages of Covid-19,” despite the fact that China brought its pandemic under control within two months, whereas CNN is based in a country that at the time was seeing its own outbreak surge to unprecedented heights.
Several reports on China’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic came out late last year, based on what US outlets like CNN, the New York Times and ProPublicaclaimed to be leaked Chinese documents. Although these reports implied that China was responsible for how bad the pandemic has been because of its downplaying of numbers and censoring of critical information, these narratives are themselves misleading in several ways.
21 January 2021 — Economics of Imperialism
I will not spend much time on this topic because it is so ridiculous. But the notion that the UK can become a ‘Singapore-on-Thames’ seems to underlie some Brexit fantasies. Do these have any foundation?
18 January 2021 — The Saker
By Pepe Escobar
The season opening of the Joe and Kammy Regime Change Show could not be a more appropriate roomful of mirrors reflecting the self-described US “political elite”.
18 January 2021 — Indian Punchline
A regime change project in Russia was launched on Sunday with the return of political activist Alexei Navalny to Moscow. It was a highly symbolic event — except that Navalny was travelling by an aeroplane from Germany and not in a sealed train.
20 January 2021 — Black Agenda Report
Glen Ford, BAR Executive Editor
Trump the straw man has finally been knocked down, giving the Democrats a victory that costs their corporate masters nothing.
20 January 2021 — Good Law Project
The UK now has the highest COVID-19 death rate of anywhere in the world. As we try and make sense of how we got our response so wretchedly wrong, just how significant will Government’s abandonment of transparency and proper process prove to be?
19 January 2021 — Political Concern
FT: Number 10 said the new committee will “refresh the strategy on making better regulation outside the EU, review existing rules and cut red tape for businesses”
The FT editorial board reports on the package of deregulatory measures being prepared by the UK’s business department with the approval of Downing Street. It has not yet been agreed by ministers — or put to the cabinet — but select business leaders have been sounded out on the plan, ‘according to people familiar with the matter’. Christopher Hope adds a title: “The Chancellor of the Exchequer is to chair a new Better Regulation Committee in Downing Street which will focus on cutting EU red tape for businesses.
18 January 2021 — Moon of Alabama
A few month ago we reported on documents which revealed secret British ‘Strategic Communication’ programs in support of the Jihadis who fight against the Syrian people and their government.
In December documents of a different secret program revealed similar British efforts in Lebanon. These were designed to influence certain ‘liberal’ youth groups in preparation for a ‘color revolution’ that would overthrow the Lebanese government.
18 January 2021 — Political Concern
[Food for thought? WB]
At a public launch on Thursday 14th January 2021, Wales’ First Minister Mark Drakeford gave introduced a new report calling for radical constitutional reform in the UK.
The report We the People, The case for Radical Federalism, prepared by a voluntary and independent think tank of Labour Party and independent members from Wales, Scotland and England, sets out some of the reasons for reforming the UK, the principles on which reform should be based and the process for getting there. It may be read in full here.
18th January 2021 — True Publica – Climate News Network
Carbon capture and storage, trapping carbon before it enters the atmosphere, sounds neat. But many doubt it can ever work.
By Paul Brown: One of the key technologies that governments hope will help save the planet from dangerous heating, carbon capture and storage, will not work as planned and is a dangerous distraction, a new report says.
18 January 2021 — True Publica – Global Justice Now
The director of Global Justice Now, Nick Dearden makes an appeal to the public to support their work of restraining this government and its toxic policies centred around the recently negotiated Brexit deal.
18 January 2021 — GMWatch
UK Gene editing consultation updates
Beyond GM and GM Freeze will be sending out information very soon on how members of the public can best respond to the UK government’s public consultation on gene editing. GMWatch has been actively contributing to this information.
Below are two short pieces that offer useful overviews of the situation.
(more…)
16 January 2021 — Indian Punchline
M.K. Bhadrakumar
The trilateral meeting of the leaderships of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Kremlin on January 11, exactly two months after the ceasefire in the 44-day Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, can be seen as a robust push by Moscow to consolidate its diplomatic achievement so far. The ceasefire has gained traction and this is the opportune moment for Russia to flesh out other aspects that were agreed upon between the three countries on November 10 in Moscow.
15 January 2021 — Outkick
A group of researchers at Stanford published a peer-reviewed study earlier this month assessing the impact of lockdowns and stay-at-home orders — what they refer to as non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) in early 2020. The study did not find evidence to support that NPIs were effective in preventing the spread.
17 January 2021 — Tortillaconsal
Stephen Sefton
Ever since at least the Iraq War of 2003, the fundamental alternatives facing North American and European elites have been constant. One alternative might have been to accept a certain loss of global power so as to share global influence peacefully in a multi-polar world with China, Russia and other regional powers. Instead, the Western elites chose the other alternative: an ultimately futile, globally destructive effort to defend their accustomed power and privilege.
Ryan Glasspiegel 
